Why does my A/C not cool the camper?!

[LAHoffs]

We just came from Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. We had the same issue. A couple things that have helped us: fans, fans, fans. Put fans where you can. We have 9" ones that hang from the curtain rods and blew across the slide, and a big 16" fan blowing out our bedroom door. Air flow inside helps tremendously. Also, go to a home improvement store and buy reflective bubble wrap. Put this in all the windows. It comes in rolls and the width was perfect, we just had to cut lengths. It fits under the shades without securing. Make sure any shkylights have foam or reflectors in them.

[john.tucson]

We had similar issues with our A/C and I found a tech that discovered the Tape sealant they used to separate the cold output from the hot return air in the A/C was lacking. Also found the ceiling ducts ran well past the last registers the full length of our motor home and one was open to the framing at one end. He resealed the "GUTS" of the A/C and wedged foam blocks after the last registers front and back and that made an obvious difference.

[hotheadbilly]

Originally Posted by jewhitehead

I'm in direct sunlight until about 6 pm. Not many trees in this part of AZ. I think it's just too hot. I measured the air at the intake with a digital meat thermometer and it was 81.4. Air temp out of the vents was 47.8.


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I do comical hvac work for a living there is definitely something wrong. Sound like you don't have enough air flow across the indoor coil with a 40 degree drop that shows lack of air flow. Any AC unit no matter how big from 1 ton to 160 ton you will only get a 20 degree differential from your rerun air to your supply air. So if your return air is 80 degrees your supply air should be 60 degrees give or take a few degress. Is your filter clean?

[fonzie]

Originally Posted by jewhitehead

The unit seems to be functioning, just doesn't cool the camper down as much as I think it should. It's a 15K unit and the air coming out is cold, but doesn't seem to be blowing hard enough out of the vents in relation to how loud the fan is blowing. I know it won't be freezing inside, but it should get cooler than 89 during the day. Current outside temp is 97 according to the weather channel.

Did you figure out why your main breaker was tripping??

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ing-85467.html

[schrederman]

We're looking at a particular TT right now and the box is 30' long. This manufacturer does not offer a second air conditioner on that model and claims that one 15K unit is sufficient... They won't allow me to special order this unit with a second A/C so it looks like they are losing a sale... That sux because it's by far our favorite... and the next larger unit doesn't fit our needs. I've been through one period of 2 months living in it in Texas, in summer, and one A/C just will not cut it.

[wana65stang]

Make sure any shkylights have foam or reflectors in them.[/QUOTE]

Just watch that this doesn't build up too much heat in the sky lite it will cause cracking in the cover. Speaking from experience

[Crockett]

Originally Posted by jewhitehead

I'm in direct sunlight until about 6 pm. Not many trees in this part of AZ. I think it's just too hot. I measured the air at the intake with a digital meat thermometer and it was 81.4. Air temp out of the vents was 47.8.


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thats a high split, id pull the grill and check for an air leak between incoming and outgoing air.

[jewhitehead]

My fan is in hi pretty much all the time. I keep the shades down plus reflectix in all the windows. I have a floor fan to help move air, bathroom exhaust fan on and I just bought some vent cushions from camping world. Current humidity in my area is 27% and 90 degrees. The fact that I have no shade is the biggest factor I think.


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[jewhitehead]

I just some other replies after I posted. Filter is clean. Never did figure out why the main was tripping. I'm not an AC guy, so am I checking the return air where it sucks it back in at the filter?


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[jewhitehead]

Well the vent cushions seem to have made a difference. At 1230 it was 78 inside, even though it's only 92 outside. Haven't had a chance to check the ducts to see if they extend beyond the last vent.

[hotheadbilly]

Yes where the air enters the filter that is the return air check that temp then minus thst temp by the closest supply vent

[happywhencamping]

Check your supply voltage, if it is low then the AC will not run as efficiently as it should.

Also check the baffle between the two sides, Ours had shifted some and the cool air was getting sucked back into the intake. It cooled better when it got fixed.

I do feel your pain, last fall we were at the beach, hotter that &**#*( the camper would get warm during the day, 85 ish

[olbob52]

After reading some posts about A/C problems, I thought it was time to do a little test. We have a new Rockwood 2715 VS. We haven't even had a chance to do a maiden voyage yet, I think we've had it a month. I knew the a/c worked, but how well? I did this test this morning. The TT sits out in the open, at least for now. I have it on shore power, but to be sure I had sufficient power, I hooked up my generator, 5,000 watt. I turned everything on at 8 am this morning. O/S temp was 79 deg and I/S was the same. I think the humidity inside was 55%. I set the thermostat for 70 deg to start. Fan on continuous, low speed. At noon, I raised the stat to 75. Just checked again at 3:30, and the O/S temp is 93, the I/S temp is 76 and the humidity is down about 10%. The inside of the TT feels really good. Also, I took some other posters advice and pulled all the shades to keep out as much sun as possible. I'll turn it off in a little while, but I just wanted to see what would happen. I think I'm gonna be a happy camper. Thanks to all you A/C posters out there who chipped in with all your suggestions.

[rzrnaz]

Good test, what City and State?

[olbob52]

Centerville, Texas. This morning the weather girl says the humidity is 94% and it's74 degrees ! Gonna be a muggy day.

[olbob52]

Hello, everyone. We just made it back from our maiden voyage with the Ultra V 2715VS, and wanted to fill everyone in on the trip. Towing was good. There was definitely more weight there than our older 19' trailer. I expected that, but it towed very well with no bad manners. Our AC did a very respectable job cooling. We kept the shades down, and tried to keep as much heat out of the trailer as possible. I will be ordering covers for the 2 vents, bathroom skylight, and the 2 doors probably tomorrow. Quite a bit of heat comes in from those. At the campsite, our O/S thermometer read from 98 to 101 degrees during the day, but the AC kept our I/S temp around 80. But the best part was the humidity that it took out of the air. Humidity in the trailer was between 48 and 52% depending on the time of day, and how much we went in and out. We were very comfortable, and it was quite nice when we came inside from walking or whatever. We cannot run the AC and the microwave together, as the microwave pulls a LOT more amps than what the manual says. We were using a Progressive 30 amp EMS and could see our amp usage at any given moment.
Everything else on the unit worked just as expected and we came back home happy campers, or at least happy as we could be being that we had to come home !!! Take care all.

[olbob52]

As a PS to my last post, I received and installed the covers for the two ceiling vents, my shower skylight, and the two door windows. I plan to run the AC tomorrow with the generator to see the results there, but so far I can see quite a bit of difference. Those 5 covers keep a LOT of heat from coming into the trailer. Of course, it's a lot darker inside, but that's fine, too, cause we kept complaining that the inside was way too bright even with no lights on. So we'll see. I think, so far, those covers are going to be $50 well spent. Again, thanks to everyone for their suggestions and contributions. Travel safe.

[aceinspp]

Glade to hear some positive comments. Later RJD

[Camper111]

I have a F250 short bed pulling a 2013 31 ft Wildcat. Has anyone added a Pop up 10 inch pin box extender so you do not have to used the sliding hitch? If so I would like your experience with it. Thanks